All three areas surveyed from space so far - in Tasmania, NSW and Victoria
- are in forest regions that are frequently the focus of dispute and debate
about the well-being of forests. Let's shift from these contentious areas
to three other areas of forest landuse chosen because they are not frequently
in the public eye. The examples are from the Albury-Wodonga area of NSW;
the Maryborough - Fraser Island area of Queensland; and Collie in Western
Australia.
The first of these areas lies between the twin cities of Albury-Wodonga
and The Great Dividing Range. Perhaps 70% of this scene has already been
cleared of forest landcover and converted to the agricultural landcovers
of crops and sown pastures. The remaining native eucalypt forest and woodland
is restricted to the uplands that are too steep to cultivate.
Use your browser to open each image
in a new window to compare them.
Landcover change in the Albury-Wodonga area during the period 31/12/72
to 29/08/88. Perhaps 70% of this scene has already been cleared and converted
to the agricultural landcovers of crops and sown pastures. The remaining
native eucalypt forest and woodland is restricted to the uplands that are
too steep to cultivate. The process of establishment of exotic plantation
forestry can be detected in both early and late FCC images. In the late
image, ignoring the tremendous change in greenness of the agricultural landcover,
three forest changes are apparent. There is the maturation of the plantations
present in the early image and the establishment of new plantations. In
addition, there is a loss of small forest and woodland remnants within the
agricultural areas. By working back from the Difference FCC image, all three
of the changes, as well as their relative importance, can be interpreted
and assessed.
